To ask if you resell anything ?

[Glitter99x]

Hi, thinking about doing some reselling on eBay to cut down on having to go to work (I work at McDonald’s, it’s alright but I would much rather do something like this full time permanently eventually). AIBU to ask if you resell items on eBay? And what do you sell? What have you found successfully sells? I’ve watched some videos on YouTube but it’s nice to hear from a person like myself rather than just YouTube! I’m thinking of reselling bedding sets and my boyfriend wants to sell board games.

Bedding sets? Where do you get them from and what’s the profit margin? Why bedding specifically?

Have you watched some of the resellers? Nic Hills, Caroline Mrs M, Emma Drew, etc? They’ve got tons of ideas and it seems really good

re bedding sets, IKEA sells v well, not all items are available online, and discontinued sells well too . I don't sell it myself (there's a good reason for that) but happen to know it does sell well! and you can always keep receipt and get it refunded back in store if it doesn't (unopened)

I just think they would sell quite well! We had dunelm open just the other week, they have quite a few lovely ones reduced- not looking to make massive profit with them, as they are bedding sets, I want to buy the lower ones just over £10 however so I can get between 10-20 pounds profit. I also think they are very easy to package as not fragile, and a good square shape.

Yes I've watched some people to get ideas

Sorry, new and not sure how to tag people in posts. How come you don't sell them alltoomuchrightnow ? If only I had an IKEA, Will Dunelm do?

How many would you have to sell to get £10-20 profit?!

Dunelm do home delivery - what's the incentive for someone to buy your listing on eBay for £20-30, rather than order a £10 set from Dunelm directly and pay the £3.95 postage?
(Not trying to be mean, but eBay is a bugger to sell on these days as the customer is always right, and both eBay and PayPal take a cut of your sales, so you've got to have a robust plan)

Well, buying a double bedding set for £12 in clearance, sell for £22 that's one set for profit, I would ask for £3.50 for P&P also. That's quite cheap compared to most Dunelm bedding lol that is full priced from what I've seen instore.

That is very true AwkwardPaws27 actually. For the moment it is just an idea, may have to go boardgames route. Sorry does anyone know how to tag people?

Do your research carefully.

I am not sure how many you can list each day before ebay would consider you to be a trader. I assume they would then take more money and you may have to offer refunds.
Selling goods you have bought for that purpose (to make a profit) as opposed to selling of your own things you no longer require may be classed as income. Would you need to declare it for tax purposes?
Not sure about others but I tend to avoid buying from people that I think are buying just to sell on at a profit, unless they are listed properly as traders.

Again board games can be bought easily from amazon etc so I don’t see why anyone would pay more to buy from you. You need to look at places that don’t deliver eg primark. Clothes are also lighter and can be less bulky so lower postage for you to pay to deliver them.

A friend makes a decent amount of money selling vintage clothing (though she stopped using eBay a while ago and sells on Etsy and other sites). She’s interested in fashion though, so is able to spot what the next trend will be (Liberty print scarfs, 90’s shell suit jackets etc) and then source that item.
She started just by getting items from charity shops.

If you buy to resell you are by definition a business, with all the tedious tax and legal implications (as well as Ebay rules) that follow on from that. Assuming that you declare it...
Even without this you need to factor in additional costs (Ebay fees, PayPal fees, returned and no longer sellable items, items 'lost in the post, cost of packing materials, cost of your time etc.)
Of course you can make a business out of reselling Ebay (thousands do) but don't make the mistake of thinking that if you buy something for £12 and sell it for £22 you are making £10 profit.

To tag use the @ symbol and the posters name @Glitter99x

Board games can go for good money but generally only the modern hard to find ones.
I sell some specific small non-breakable collectibles which are easy to post. However I've been collecting for 25 years and I specialise in a certain area, meaning I can buy cheaply in general sales etc and resell for a good profit because I know the market.
Another thing I dabble in is a particular bulky item that most people seem on eBay as "collection only" due to the size. I can buy these cheaply and sell for a profit simply by offering postage (which doesn't cost much relative to the value of the item) because I'm prepared to package and take to a parcel point.

And yes, to echo Grumpyoldpersonwithcats it is a business, there are lots of fees (eBay charge 10% of sale price and postage, listing fees, plus PayPal fees), and you have virtually no protection as a seller against buyers who regularly try to defraud you.
Try gumtree/Facebook local selling pages instead.

Sounds like you need to do a fair bit more in depth research...

We do have a business selling on ebay so it can be done.

But you do have to be aware of the hidden costs when planning to see if your idea is viable.

So cost of listing. This is charged whether or not your item sells.
Cost to buy items.
Not all the items you buy will sell. You might have to reduce heavily the cost of certain items so they do sell. So you have to factor this into your buying costs.
Selling fees - remember ebay charges these on postage too.
Costs of packaging - you will end up having to buy this in if you are selling a lot.
Costs of refunds for goods damaged in post or lost or buyer decides not as described (and you will almost certainly have to give some)
and probably a few more hidden costs as well.

As soon as you buy something to sell you are a business seller and have to declare this.

One way to see if your idea on what to sell is at all viable is to check the number of similar items for sale on ebay and then the number actually sold. Some people have very optimistic views on their selling prices but looking at the actual prices people get gives you a much better idea. If you are only making a £1.00 or so profit on each item you will have to sell an awful lot of items to make your business worthwhile (and does your house have the space to cope with this number of items!!!).

I wouldn’t be buying from IKEA or dunelm and trying to resell - as others have said buyers are fairly savvy and will buy direct
Have you got any factory shops near to you? I don’t mean outlet village types but manufacturers who have shops where they sell off old stock or seconds

Do a LOT of research. eBay charge you on sale price plus postage costs, PayPal charge to handle the money. Buyers can be fussy, finicky, impatient, downright rude and some lie. Some can be really lovely. You need to consider postage and packing costs, the best way to send your goods, building the cost of refunds, exchanges and replacements into your business model.

You need to adhere to the laws concerning distance selling now called Consumer Contract Regulations.

It's not just as simple as buying a bedding set from IKEA for £10 and reselling for £20.

Do your research, find a niche product, check sold and completed listings on eBay (not just the advertised price) and you might be able to get somewhere.

If there's loads of people already selling the same product why will customers buy from you? Just something to consider.

To add to my previous post (and to underline what several others are saying above) knowing your market is absolutely key.
I been running a business for the last 30 years or so (classic car parts). It's now primarily but not exclusively on Ebay. I buy from a variety of sources and know my market enough to be able to buy well.

An Ebay business can work - but don't underestimate the costs and at the start don't risk buying stock if you can't afford to lose the money.

@JaceLancs we have pittards which sell leather goods, they have a clearance section.

I feel I’m too stupid for all this 😭😪

I have run an eBay business for nearly eight years, and let me tell you, it is downright hard work. eBay is one of the worst sites to sell through and it gets tougher every year. I keep going while it is worth my while but I have three other stores. I also sell items that few others sell so my competition is minimal. It took me a year to earn any money at all, I actually made a loss the first year, and it took me a further three years to get to the point where I was earning a full time income of 40 hours a week at minimum wage, and could ditch the part time job (although I was working a ridiculous amount of hours for that "full time" income).
You are looking at going into competition with huge companies that can undercut your price in an instant with their stock buying power. I'm sorry but unless you have a lot of money to invest in stock and a product no one else is selling in an area you have knowledge of, you might as well throw your money in the bin.
Sorry to be so harsh, but that's the reality.